When: Thursday, April 18, 2013
Reception (with program): 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Location: Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center
Lecture: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Alder Commons Auditorium
Cost: FREE, but advance registration is requested. Please R.S.V.P. to cpromad@uw.edu or 206-685-9594 by April 15.
The University of Washington is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations in its services, programs, activities, education, and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodations for this event, contact the Disability Services Office at least 10 days in advance at: 206-543-6450/V, 206-543-6452/TTY, 206-685-7264 (Fax), or email at dso@uw.edu.
Amanda Lock Swarr, Ph.D.
Amanda Lock Swarr will present the 2013 Samuel E. Kelly Distinguished Faculty Lecture. Dr. Swarr is an associate professor at the University of Washington and joined the Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies faculty in 2005. She received a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies from Bucknell University (1995) and a master’s degree in anthropology (1998) and Ph.D. in feminist studies (2003) from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Swarr’s research addresses queer and trans* concerns, medical inequalities and feminist politics inside and outside of the U.S. She was Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Barnard College of Columbia University (2003-2005), a fellow with the UW Simpson Center Society of Scholars (2009-2010), and a two-time recipient of the UW Royalty Research Fellowship (2006-07, 2013-14). Dr. Swarr authored the book “Sex in Transition: Remaking Gender and Race in South Africa” (2012) and co-edited the anthology “Critical Transnational Feminist Praxis” (2010) with Richa Nagar, as well as publishing numerous articles in journals including “SIGNS: Journal of Women in Culture and Society and Feminist Studies.” Her current book project is titled “Forcing Sex: Violent Contestations over South African Masculinities.”
Lecture Topic
Racing the Boundaries of Gender and Sexuality:
Rethinking Apartheid and Transitional South Africa
Amanda Lock Swarr’s lecture, extended from her recent book, “Sex in Transition: Remaking Gender and Race in South Africa,” will argue that the well-known racial segregation of apartheid and the transition to democracy relied on an unexamined but interrelated paradigm of gendered and sexual manipulation. Drawing on 15 years of research in South Africa, she will ask why some South Africans who define themselves as transsexual, gay and lesbian have been subjected to forced and botched sex reassignment procedures, legalized discrimination and community ostracism, while others have received state-funded medical treatment and legal support. In this lecture, Swarr will expose the junctures of gender, sexuality and race, suggesting new ways to think about the inherent contradictions not only of South Africa but of social categories more broadly.
Samuel E. Kelly
Named in honor of the University of Washington’s first Vice President for the Office of Minority Affairs (1970), the annual Samuel E. Kelly Distinguished Faculty Lecture is dedicated to acknowledging the work of our distinguished faculty by spotlighting nationally recognized research focusing on diversity and social justice. Understanding differences takes place where there are opportunities to learn and become more informed about other people’s viewpoints, historical perspectives, life experiences, cultures, customs and contributions. Educational institutions have an opportunity and responsibility through teaching and research to promote awareness of diversity and its importance within a campus community and society.
Past Lecturers
2012
Dr. Alexes Harris
Department of Sociology
The U.S. Criminal Justice System: Race, Poverty and Permanent Punishments
Watch Lecture
2011
Dr. Luis Fraga
Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement
Russell F. Stark University Professor
Director, Diversity Research Institute
Professor, Department of Political Science
Change and Continuity: Latinos in the Future of America
2010
Dr. Richard Ladner
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Department of Electrical Engineering
Department of Linguistics
Designing and Building Technology Empower People.
2009
Dr. Biren (Ratnesh) Nagda
School of Social Work
Embracing Difference, Engendering Justice: From the Courthouse to the Classroom to the Community Center.
2008
Dr. Joy Williamson
College of Education
Black Students, Campus Activism, and the Reform of Higher Education: History and Legacy.
2007
Dr. Karina Walters
School of Social Work
From Dis-placement to Dis-Ease: Embodiment and Expression of Historical Trauma among Indigenous Women.
2006
Dr. Devon G. Pena
Department of Anthropology/American Ethnic Studies
Place, Identity and Social Justice in the City; The Story of an Indigenous Diaspora.
2005 Inaugural Lecture
Dr. Quintard Taylor
Department of History
From Civil Rights to Black Power in the West: The Movement in Seattle, 1960-1970